ChainCatcher news, according to Pressreader, Bank Negara Malaysia is collaborating with several local financial institutions to explore the potential of wholesale central bank digital currency through a proof of concept (POC), aiming to optimize Malaysia's wholesale payment system RENTAS.Bank Negara Malaysia is also actively involved in several cross-border wholesale digital currency and innovation projects led by the Bank for International Settlements Innovation Hub, such as the "Dunbar" project, "Mandala" project, "Rialto" project, and "mBridge" project, primarily serving as an observer in these initiatives. "These projects delve into the applications of distributed ledger technology (DLT) and central bank digital currencies, with the goal of enhancing the efficiency of cross-border payments."It is reported that Bank Negara Malaysia's initial intention in participating in these projects is to deepen the understanding of central bank digital currencies among institutions and the financial industry, laying the groundwork for potential future developments.

ChainCatcher news, the Bank Negara Malaysia (BNM) recently stated that it will focus on the research of wholesale central bank digital currency (wCBDC) and will not consider issuing retail CBDC for the time being. The bank believes that the existing system is sufficient to meet retail payment needs.BNM stated that wCBDC will be used for interbank settlements of tokenized deposits both domestically and internationally, and has participated in Singapore's multi-CBDC project "Project Dunbar" and the cross-border CBDC project "mBridge." Although technical preparations and policy research are underway, BNM plans to continue researching wCBDC and distributed ledger technology in 2024-2025, but there are no immediate issuance plans.Several Asian central banks, including those in Hong Kong, South Korea, Singapore, and Taiwan, are also exploring wCBDC to support tokenized deposits. A report by Ledger Insights indicates that there are currently over 70 tokenized deposit and bank stablecoin projects in progress.